In society, the wealth of an individual is determined by the house they live in. In Ragged Company, the character Timber combats this idea by providing an alternate view on the idea of home. The dictionary definition of home according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is “one’s place of residence” (Home), however, Timber attaches to the connotative definition. This definition conveys that a home is a place or person where one feels safe and comfortable. Coordinated with this definition, the author of Ragged Company goes into detail of the lives of several homeless people and higher middle class man. These characters interact and evolve with each other in ways that support Timber’s claim. Granite and Digger come from different backgrounds but …show more content…
For example, the character Timber experienced a tragic event which left his beloved wife, Sylvan, with brain damage, causing her to forget who he was. Her love and support was the driving force in his. Timber says “she’d come home at night and find me there and we’d walk into the house which was our home” (Wagamese, 2009, p. 205). His choice of words convey that the house was only a home when Sylvan was there. When she was taken away from him, he was emotionally homeless. With his wife needing care in an expensive special facility, Timber resorted to selling their belongings and eventually their house, making him physically homeless as well. This, in association with the loss of his wife, caused him to leave his former life. This response is similar to the “fight or flight” response animals and humans have with the presence of stress (Davidson, 2015). Timber chose to flee from his problems as apposed to fight to rebuild his life. With this behaviour, it is not surprizing that he also took up a drinking problem. Similar to the aforementioned Digger, Timber used alcohol as a means to self-medicate. He says about drinking, “it’s all [he] could do because [he] didn’t want to surface to the blackness, the emptiness of [his] life” (Wagamese, 2009, p. 208). Timber’s poor mental health and substance abuse only further contributed to his
...suburban home ownership, they were homeward bound. But, as the years went by, they also found themselves bound to the home." (May p.207)
For example, Victor, his parents, and his uncles hold onto painful events and memories that hinder their productivity and cause them to lack the skills needed to grow emotionally. This is a clear indication that they suffer from poor emotional health and coping skills. This is most likely the reason that they all drink alcohol and party on a regular basis. This is also why small issues in their household can blow up into huge arguments and ultimately result in cursing and fighting. Continuing to drink under the circumstances Victor and his family live in only worsen their emotional health. A viscous cycle repeats over and over until a hole is dug so deep that none of them can gain traction to pull themselves out of the misery that’s been created. Victor witnesses this cycle and locks each incident in his mind for safe
Everyone has to deal with struggles during their everyday life. Some people’s problems are more serious than others, and the way that people deal with their problems varies. Everybody has a coping mechanism, something they can use to make the struggle that they’re going through easier, but they’re usually different. Some people drink, some people smoke, some people pretend there is no problem. There are healthy and unhealthy coping mechanisms, and people will vary the one they use depending on the problem they’re facing. In The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, the author and her family deal with their struggles in multiple different ways as time goes on. However, the severity of her situation means that the methods she uses to deal with it are very important. That’s why it’s bad that Jeanette’s and her family have such unhealthy coping mechanisms, such
“When Dad went crazy, we all had our own ways of shutting down and closing off…” (Walls 115).In Jeannette Walls memoir, The Glass Castle, Walls enlightens the reader on what it’s like to grow up with a parent who is dependent on alcohol, Rex Walls, Jeannette’s father, was an alcoholic. Psychologically, having a parent who abuses alcohol is the worst thing for a child. The psychological state of these children can get of poorer quality as they grow up. Leaving the child with psychiatric disorders in the future and or being an alcoholic as well.
Reading this I remembered, that I heard in AA meetings people referred to alcohol as their best friend, who is reliable and present. In case of Caroline’s mother death, she turned to her drink for the support and comfort, in the manner of a child who is afraid to be without a favorite blanket or a teddy bear. “Protect me. Shield me from being alone in my own head”, those thoughts were racing in her mind as she increased her daily alcohol intake after her parent’s death. Knapp got sober two years after, and it was sad for me (and I am sure for Caroline, too) to realize that her parents never have seen her daughter free from the addiction, never will have quality time with them and a brand new relationship that they could have been built if Caroline would not have been
...ome developing some of the same habits in their own households. Drugs and alcohol can be used as emotional crutches in these types of situations, and develop into addiction. Childhood Trauma and Mental Illnesses are directly correlated to both addiction, and each other.
6. Continued alcohol use despite having persistent or recurrent social or interpersonal problems caused or exacerbated by the effects of alcohol.
Severe mood swings, violent rages, memory loss—each of these problems were a part of my family life during the past two or three years. These problems are the result of alcoholism. Recently, a member of my family realized his abuse of alcohol was a major problem to not only himself, but also to those around him. He would lose control of his temper and often would not even remember doing it the next day. Alcohol became a part of his daily life including work, home, and any other activities. His problem was that of a "hidden" and "high-society" alcoholism. When he was threatened with the loss of his job and the possibility of losing his family, this man knew it was time to get help. After he reached his lowest point, he took the first step towards recovery—admitting his problem.
Generally speaking, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) references substance dependence (in this case, alcohol) as a cluster of cognitive, behavioral, and physiological symptoms that shows that the person is continuing use of the substance even with adverse effects on the individual’s life. Specifically, for a person to be diagnosed with substance dependence they must show at least three of the following symptoms; tolerance, withdrawal, substance being taken in larger amounts of over a longer period of time than intended, an unsuccessful desire or effort to control the use of the substance, there is a great deal of time devoted to the drug, important social, occupational, or recreational activities are given up or reduced due to the substance, and the individual continues use of the substance even with the knowledge that the substance is causing physical or psychological problems (APA, 2000).
Theses stories all relate to how they do not handle: themselves, as well as their physical and emotional, thoughts and actions well. Their past led them to alcohol leading the to psychological issues as well as
It seems as though in every novel we read, play we watch, or movie we see, the main character always seems to have an internal struggle that they are tied down to. It could just be a small little thought that they cannot figure out the answer to, or it could be as severe as a mental illness. Whatever that one aspect is, it can end up having a huge impact on the characters life, or minor, insignificant effects. In one of the most well-known Shakespearian plays, “Hamlet”, the main character’s struggle stems from the mental illness of bipolar disorder. In a much more modern novel, Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Charlie the main character suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Both characters
“According to research that individuals may be more likely to be put themselves in risky health behaviors when they are around others also engaged in those behaviors” (qtd. in Varela). Poe writes stories by making a connection with the links of mind and matter to the center of the soul, which makes his story, “The Cask of Amontillado” to be illustrated as evil. “The relationship between stress and alcohol drinking is complicated by a host of alcohol-related factors such as history of use, level and pattern of drinking, or timing of accessibility of alcohol in relation to stress experience as well as stress-related factors such as type, chronicity, predictability, and controllability that intersect with a number of biological variables in genetics, age, and sex” (qtd. in Becker). For example, according to Clarke, Uhart, and Wand “clear individual differences exist in sensitivity tom perception of, and responsiveness to stress and alcohol, and both clinical and preclinical evidence indicate that genetic factors help shape the nature of the relationship between stress and alcohol drinking” (qtd. in Becker). In another word, alcohol and stress to depress actually goes in hand in hand, which it could change the way how the people behave and thinks. When Poe 's wife was ill and later passed away, it really brought Poe down to the bottom where he couldn 't live without her and he was previously alcoholic but
There are many times where the narrator describes his actions towards his loved ones while under the influence of alcohol. Since the narrator is trying to draw the attention to his consumption of alcohol, he tries to make sure that his actions trace back to it. In the short story, the narrator says "But my disease grew upon me -- for what disease is like Alcohol !..."(Poe 23) which shows his addiction for alcohol becoming stronger. The narrator's madness seems to be heightened by the alcohol. He begins to chan...
All people have many different personalities. Some of these different personalities come out when a person is under the influence of alcohol. This idea can be seen in Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt. In the story, Frank’s family is living in Ireland and they are very much in poverty. Frank’s family works so hard to try and better themselves, but they just can not get out of poverty. Frank’s father, Malachy Sr., does not do anything to help them out either. Malachy Sr. can not keep a job and when he does have a job he takes all his earnings to the pub to drink them away. He never brings home the paycheck and he never tries to help the family. There are times throughout the story where Frank’s father shows his love and care for the family and
Financial distress is often expressed as the force that drives most of the corporate decisions. However, many researches argue that there is weak comprehension of the duties of and connections between corporate illiquidity and insolvency; the most important two causes of financial distress.